Dear Ignacio Daraude,
That would be great. Sorry for the slow response as we were away on our annual holiday in Amsterdam (Where my partner is from and where we have a flat)
I prefer to do interviews via email as it gives you time to think about the questions and I'm a bit old school anyway having grown up without the internet in the 80's.
The following questions will be published both on my own website www.mrpauldavidchisholm.com and I'm looking to start a website for my research called something along the lines of ArtWorldinterviews.
If you would be so kind to answer the following questions that would be great and much appreciated and just so that you know this research is funded by the Arts Council England. I'm also a post grad Artist considering a PHD in Fine Art so these interviews are a foundation to my ongoing research as a Queer British Artist.
1, What did you do today?
I spent my last day in Iceland visiting Reykjavik, which has a fabulous Penis Museum. I was thrilled to discover that, in addition to its extraordinary landscapes, Iceland features the rainbow flag wherever you go, from schools to hotels, churches, government buildings, stairs, main streets, roads, soft drinks and even in rainy skies. Absolute heaven. The flag’s creator, Gilbert Baker would have been really proud.
2, Does being Queer as an Artist affect the way you read a painting?
100%. As an art lover, whether a painting has a clear queer theme or a coded queer theme which I can detect, makes me focus intensely on the artists’ intention, their creative process, why they chose what they depicted or omitted. Paying attention to these details enhances my experience and makes me appreciate their work of art even more.
3, There are two seminal exhibitions at major institutions in the U.S and the U.K in the last ten or so years 'Hide and Seek at the Smithsonian and Queer British Art at Tate Britain'. With such a history of ignoring or maliging us, how far do you think these exhibitions went in presenting Queer Art?
I saw both, loved them and cried in both of them. When I entered the main room of the Tate Exhibition and I found myself surrounded by all the artists I adore, acknowledging that they were gay, it was a transformative experience, I had to sit down and compose myself. It was the reaffirmation of everything I’ve known but the art world refused to acknowledge until then.
4, Who are your favourite Queer Artists? A long list I'm sure ! John Singer Sargent, Jean Cocteau, David Hockney, Kehinde Wiley, Duncan Grant, Lord Leighton, Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Michelangelo. Thomas Eakins, Grant Wood, Caravaggio, Donatello… the list is endless
5, Why did you start breaking the gay code in art? What's your background/ professional experience/ Passion?
I have a very unusual background. I grew up in Spain, where I was a lawyer and a journalist. I moved to Los Angeles to study film production. I had a very successful career in the studios as head of international marketing for Disney and Sony.
Art is a true passion of mine and, thru the years, I realized that many of the artists that I loved happened to be gay. Not just the ones that many people know: Warhol, Haring or Mapplethorpe but many others I responded to but didn’t realize until much later that they were gay. When I started investigating why I was reacting so strongly to their art, I discovered that key artists in history, from Michelangelo to David Hockney used secret gay codes in their work and there are secret gay images hiding in plain sight in iconic, world-known works of art. This astonishing discovery galvanized me into leaving Sony to develop my project HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT – BREAKING THE GAY CODE IN ART, which encompasses lectures, articles, Instagram posts @breakingthegaycodeinart and a docuseries in the works uncovering how, in spite of enormous repression, queer artists and queer imagery in art, both, openly or through secret codes, have revolutionized mainstream art and culture from the Renaissance to present times.
I just finished a 4-lecture series at LA’s LGBT Center, supported by and Arts Grant from the City of West Hollywood and recently flew to New York to be a key speaker at a panel that NY HISTORICAL SOCIETY organized around their J.C. LEYENDECKER exhibition https://www.nyhistory.org/programs/coded-the-hidden-love-of-j.c.-leyendecker?date=2023-07-07 I’ve also written feature stories on this subject for the GAY & LESBIAN REVIEW.
The response to my lectures has been extraordinary because the sexuality of these artists has been excluded from schools' curricula, keeping their achievements hidden from both the heterosexual and the queer communities. My goal is to enlighten audiences of all backgrounds and ages on the extraordinary queer heritage in art history, which has been widely ignored, informing young queer generations of how they come from a magnificent lineup of trailblazers.
6, How can the Art world be more inclusive/ diverse/ open to Artists of all walks of life?
The art world has always denied the importance of an artist’s queerness in their work. If we are talking about Picasso, it’s ok to discuss his female lovers but if you want to discuss the queerness of an artist, the response from museum curators and conservative boards is that their queerness is irrelevant. The two exhibitions you mentioned confirmed how important an artist’s queerness is in their work. This is changing but we have a long way to go.
7, What makes an Artwork appeal to you?
It’s hard to describe because I have such an eclectic taste. Sometimes is the motive the artist depicts, the colors, how the artists’ lives affected their work etc. I have very visceral reactions to paintings which come from deep inside me and even I don’t know where my response comes from.
8, So many Artists bodies of work were lost and thrown on the streets especially during the 80's and 90's with the Aids pandemic how can we overcome this tragedy if at all?
Fortunately, this is changing. The work of Felix Gonzalez Torres, Peter Hujar, Hugh Steers, David Wojnarowicz etc is now getting skyrocketing prices. They are finally getting their due
9, What's your favourite Queer Art book ?
Any book that discusses John Singer Sargent’s sexuality openly
10, What's the future for LGBTQ+ Artists in the museum sector do you think will grow or will we be marginalised again via hate?
It’s a tricky question, I live in the US where we are witnessing a huge attack on gay rights and expression right now. It feels that we had one step forward and ten back. I don’t know how this will pan out but we have to keep fighting and showing the world how our queerness is essential for our planet to survive
Again many thanks for your time
Kind regards Paul Chisholm